Suggestions needed!

I am scheduled to go to the castle on Jan. 17, 01 for a LAVH due to adenomyosis and endometriosis. I am keeping my ovaries. I'm 31, 2 great kids, and already scared to death! I had a laparoscopy in Feb. 00, and can remember being terrified. That went smoothly, but here's my problem. After waking up in recovery, and being returned to my room, I became "panicky". I couldn't wait to leave. Of course, I was cold, and shaking uncontrollably. They almost kept me there because my blood pressure had dropped so low. I was finally discharged, and as soon as I got in the car, I was fine! (This was roughly a 2 hour period) I have a high pain tolerance, so the surgery doesn't really scare me, except the standard worries and questions. The part that really scares me is having to stay in the hospital, and possibly having the same reaction that I did before, except I won't be leaving so soon. Does anyone have any suggestions to help me relax. It's no big secret that I dislike hospitals very much! Thanks in advance for all of your suggestions!

i understand what you mean but the truth of it is that by the time you get to your room in the hospital, they will have you on so much for the pain that u won't have the energy to panic. you will be out of it for most of the day. the drugs make you sleep and if your asleep then you can't panic, right? you will do fine. i just went on 12/5!
good luck
big hugs
nocluegirl

You will be pretty out of it from the pain meds. I would mention to my Dr. about your phobia with the hospital. He/she may also prescribe some kind of anti-anxiety meds for you also. Or a pain med that has those kind of properties.
Is there anyone who can stay with you for most of the day or even over night if you need them too? Maybe you would feel better if you weren't alone.
As a final resort, you could look into hypnotism. I know it works for people who are afraid of flying and have to go on a plane for business trips.

Just an added note: The nurses can heat up blankets in microwave thingy too...you might ask then to do that. I always get cold in the hospital and those WARM blankets just seem to relax me.

I'm scheduled for a TAH/BSO on Wednesday and have found this site to be a source of information and comfort!

Chances are you'll be drugged/sleepy, BUT to give yourself some peace of mind start thinking of and making a list of "comfort things" to ease your anxiety like ... a deck of cards, a new book with a lot of pictures to look at, I've heard of women bringing a coloring book and colors, I'm bringing my little cassette player and some "relaxation tapes" to listen to.

Everything will be fine - they keep saying the waiting is the hardest part!

Hi Connie,
Think about your healing process and that if you get yourself all worked up it will just prolong you healing process. You should try and be as calm as possible so that all the medications will work properly and you will be on your way to a quick recovery. Nobody likes hospitals, but th doctors and nurses have a really hard job trying to help so many people all coming from different backgrounds and ways of living. Try and give in to your pain medication and just relax. That way if you need help...your help is just a button away. You don't want to go home from the hospital and cause bleeding and have to take your body through the germs and trouble of coming back through the emergency room where people are coughing and God knows what else! And they make you sit out there and wait and wait. You incision will be fresh so try hon, and stay as calm as possible. Pray and ask the Lord to comfort you so you will be able to stay and leave when your doctor says you can. May God be with you Honey. sonyiachappelle@hotmail.com

At the hospital, they seem very concerned about treating every issue. .. whether that's fear, anxiety, puking, headaches. I had a wonderful long consultation with a nurse at the hospital prior to the surgery, and she convinced me that if I just communicated every need to the staff, they would be able to treat whatever was bothering me. So true. Like most of the hystersisters, I was pretty out of it all day on surgery day. Immediately when I woke in recovery, I was all nervous about something or other and kept complaining that my body just felt "tense". Sure enough they immediately gave me something to make that sensation go away. I also felt a lot of body tension (hard to explain. . literally waking what felt like every 15 min or so. . . all tight and tense in face and body) overnight in hospital on first night. I asked for sedatives the next two nights, which really helped.

So my advice is to be absolutely open about every fear, ache or pain you have and trust that the health care pros will do what is absolutely best to keep you comfortable. Their goal is to help you to relax so your body can get on with healing.

Best of luck to you.
Jo